Baked oats are a quick and delicious way to fuel up in the morning.
Banana baked oatmeal is chock full of flavorful ingredients like oats, chia seeds, and nuts.
Holly’s Cozy Oatmeal Highlights
- Flavor: Baked oatmeal is naturally sweetened with bananas and agave.
- Recommended Tools: 4” wide oven-safe ramekins are perfect for single portions.
- Serving Suggestions: Enjoy as a single serving breakfast or slice into bars for on-the-go.
- Difficulty: Super easy! Just blend and bake.
- Prep Note: Bake once and enjoy cold or reheat on those busy mornings.
- Swaps: Swap the chia seeds for collagen or protein powder, flax, or hemp seeds.
Banana Baked Oatmeal Basics
- Oatmeal: Old-fashioned oats (AKA rolled oats) provide structure and a fluffy, moist, banana bread-like texture.
- Milk: Use any milk or your favorite milk alternative. PRO TIP: Oat milk has the closest creaminess to whole milk and makes this baked oats recipe extra moist.
- Sweetener: Agave is a natural sweetener that tastes a little like honey and dissolves easily in recipes. Honey and maple syrup are good alternatives.
- Fruit: Add blueberries, chopped strawberries, and dried fruit like cherries, mangoes, or cranberries. PRO TIP: Toss fresh berries in a little flour before adding to the recipe so they don’t sink to the bottom of the baking dish or pan.
- Bake It Your Way: Nuts are optional, but add to that classic banana bread flavor. Walnuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios, or seeds like sunflower or pumpkin seeds add healthy fats and crunch to banana baked oats. Feeling fancy? Drizzle baked banana oats with a little caramel sauce before serving.
How To Make Banana Baked Oats
- Place ingredients in a blender and blend (full recipe below).
- Pour into prepared ramekins or a loaf pan.
- Bake and top with remaining banana slices before serving.
Banana Bake Hacks
- Intensify the banana flavor by blending the ingredients (except baking powder) and storing them overnight in the refrigerator. Add baking powder and bake in the morning.
- If using nuts or seeds, toast them in a dry saute pan until barely fragrant. This burns off their oils, keeping them crunchy and intensifying their flavor.
- Baked oats will expand in the oven and flatten out after baking.
Stay-Fresh Tips
Keep leftover banana baked oats covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Add a bit of milk, stir, and reheat in the microwave.
More Hearty Breakfasts
Did you make these Banana Baked Oats? Leave a rating and a comment below.
Banana Baked Oats
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 banana divided
- ½ cup old fashioned oats
- ½ cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon agave
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon chia seeds optional
- 1 scoop collagen optional
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or chocolate chips
- salted butter for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Grease a small baking dish or a large ramekin (about 4" wide) and set aside.
- Add ½ of the banana, oats, milk, agave, baking powder, vanilla, and salt (and chia seeds and collagen if using) to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Pour the blended oats into the prepared baking dish.
- Stir in the walnuts, letting some rest on the top of the batter.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the oats.
- Top with the remaining ½ of the banana (sliced) and salted butter and enjoy warm.
Notes
- The dish should be at least 11oz and at least 4 inches wide to allow for proper baking.
- The oats will puff up and will settle back down after coming out of the oven.
- I do recommend placing the baking dish on a small baking sheet since the smaller dishes can be harder to handle with oven mitts.
- Almond, cashew, soy, or regular milk can also be used in this recipe.
- 1 scoop of collagen powder or protein powder can be added.
- This does taste like banana bread, but the walnuts and butter are KEY to getting that flavor.
- If you want the banana flavor to build, blend all of the ingredients EXCEPT the baking powder and place in the fridge overnight. In the morning, mix in the baking powder and bake. The oats may require an additional few minutes of bake time.
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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Came out delicious! Love that it’s healthy.
So glad you loved it!
can you speak baked in an air fryer?
I have never tried baking this in an air fryer but would love to hear how it turns out for you!
This is my favorite! I’ve made it hundreds of times. I use only 2 dashes of salt. I use maple syrup instead of agave nector. I use a tablespoon of protein powder instead of chia seeds. I use old fashion oats but if I use quick oats, it doesn’t seem to make a difference. I add a dash of cinnamon and some coffee extract in addition to the vanilla. I chop up a half a dark chocolate square for the chocolate chips on top. This is a hearty breakfast; not low in calories but nutritious.
Those substitutions sound delicious. Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely delicious!!! Tastes exactly like banana bread, but can enjoy as a nutritious breakfast! Definitely adding this to my favorite recipes!
So happy to hear that you enjoyed it, Kerry!
Excellent Recipe. Great Menu Choices. YUMMY !!! I’ll Definitely Try It.
Tastes reasonable. Substituted honey instead of agave. Baked it the night before. The bake rises nicely but quickly collapses, as described in recipe. Having mixed blueberries in, it baked into an unappealing-looking grey mass. The consistency was chewy and stodgy, a bit like a raw cake. Maybe it’s better when you eat it fresh out of the oven. Hoping it doesn’t give me a tummy ache!